Chapter 3

A/N: Yeah, there isn't much to say right now except thank you to SakuraLovesSasuke and TeenageCrisis for reviewing. I really appreciate it. Yeah, finals are about to start and so is Christmas break. So updates maybe faster but I won't promise anything. My muse likes to take lots of vacations. Anyway let's move on in the story.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure you all know I only own the plot to this story

We were in front of the gates to the Uchiha manor. Kakashi had given my mother the keys to the lace which she gave to me. It was finally time to see if the Uchiha manor was as haunted as people claimed. In total there were about eight of us here. We had four guys from school with us here.

It wasn't because we were scared that anything would happen. We just needed more people so we could cover more ground faster. I didn't want to waste time at all because for all I knew the last bullet in the gun may already be gone.

The four guys that were with us were Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara, and Sai. They were close to us so I figured they would be the best to pick for the job. Well, Neji volunteered to come along, we all knew he was just watching over Hinata.

The gates that lead to the path up to the Uchiha manor was made of iron and opened without a sound. I started making my way to the front door; I wasn't scared of this place. Why would I be? There were no ghosts here and no one was going to come in and scare us, well unless Naruto had any tricks up his sleeve. Then again, there really wasn't anything to bad that he could do in a short amount of time.

I opened the door to the manor and opened it. I was expecting the place to be covered in dust but there wasn't any. It wasn't even stuffy in here. Then again Kakashi mentioned that he would check on the gun in the manor so that might explain it. Ino and Sai had brought some flashlights for us to use in the manor.

"So how should we go about this guys?" I heard Tenten ask.

"Why don't we do it like on those shows that investigate haunted manors?" Naruto suggested.

"One problem Naruto," Shikamaru said. "I'm the only one who brought a camera at the moment and they use a lot more than one. Besides none of us have access to thermo image cameras. We can use our phones and MP3's to record things though."

"Actually that won't be too much of a problem Shikamaru." I said.

He looked at me confused.

"I thought I was the only one bringing a camera?" He asked.

"I sent an email to everyone to bring some sort of camera." I said. "Most of us have phones that record videos and we have cameras that can record video as well. Plus we borrowed the cameras from other friends."

Sai was carrying most of the stuff that we brought so he set everything down gently. He got them out of the bag and gave everyone a camera.

"We actually had b-b-been planning this for a while." Hinata explained. "It's something we've wanted to do since we were k-k-kids."

"Of course we knew it was dangerous so we waited for a while and Ino kept distracting us with other Konoha stories." Tenten explained.

"I think we should each go off on our own." Ino declared. "We all have a cell phone so if anything bad happens we can text. Besides, according to Sakura there are no ghosts here."

Everyone was suddenly staring at me. Ino was expecting me to give in right now while the rest were just waiting for my answer.

"We should at least go off in pairs." I said. "If someone gets hurt or into trouble they'll at least have a buddy to help them immediately."

That answer wasn't good enough for Ino this time. She stood right in front of me. Her face was inches from mine.

"Is that really the reason Billboard?" She asked. "Or do you believe the story of the haunted manor?"

"Ino, if anyone gets hurt it's your fault."I said firmly.

"So, we can each go off on our own?"

"Sure but any serious injury is your fault."

She started chewing her lip. She may not show it but she really cares about others. It just takes a lot for any of her true emotions to come out. This was a big choice for her to make. After a minute, she had a sly smile on her face.

"You know basic medicine right?" She asked.

"You should know Ino-Pig."I answered

"Then, I dare you to go by yourself around this manor. Just keep sending us all text messages so we know that you're perfectly fine."

Now only the girls were staring at me. I have never refused one Ino's dares before. It didn't matter to me what her stupid dares were. It's not she ever dared me to do anything really dangerous. The difference this time was the gun Kakashi told me about. What if there was some sort of serial killer in here? Then again it could just a joke as well. I had a huge ego when it came to Ino's dares and my pride would usually defeat my common sense. That was the case here. Ino was calling me out and I wasn't going to back out now.

"Fine Ino," I said. "as long as everyone else is fine, then I'll go off on my own."

I saw her jaw drop when I grabbed a flashlight and went up the staircase. I felt a smile play on my lips as I ascended the staircase. I wasn't going to lose to Ino. I would prove that the Uchiha Manor was not haunted and that all the stories were just that; stories.

*Uchiha Manor Sasuke's Pov*

It was finally nightfall. The darkness would give me an excuse to stop reading the books from Itachi's room. I had nothing but free time. I felt no hunger so I never needed food. I was never thirsty so I never needed water. I didn't even have to use the restroom. I'm sure many people would have loved to never be able to be interrupted. Not in this hell hole. Right now a distraction is what I need.

Those books were truly evil. If I just set it down to take a walk or try to distract myself at all, I would feel a strange pull towards the book I was currently reading. I could ignore it for a few minutes but then the chains would appear. They were the same chains that bound me to this house. This prison. I tried to throw the book out and see if I could leave if I took the book but it was like the doorway had an invisible barrier. It looked like the book hit a wall and just fell. It didn't even reach outside.

At least in the night I'd get to use sleep as an excuse to stop reading. I put the current book down on my bedside table and lay down on my bed. I wasn't physically exhausted; it was a mental exhaustion that had taken over me. How was Itachi able to deal with this? Was he able resist the chains long enough to act normal? Or were all those times he claimed to be studying just a lie? That had to be it. He was studying, but it wasn't his school work. It was these books! He had so many though.

He had over fifty books. I was barely on the fortieth book but still, that was because I had nothing but time.

I'm over thinking this. I need sleep. I closed my eyes and tried to relax. I needed a good distraction. I thought about my mother. She was always smiling and would defend me whenever father tried to beat me. Dad loved me but he had some serious anger issues. He once broke my arm when he pushed me out of his way. The impact on my arm was enough to break it. Dad was angry but when he heard me howl in pain he turned around. He called a doctor over immediately. He said he was sorry a couple of times.

Of course he'd still hit me but I never had any bad bruises and that was the only time he ever broke one of my bones.

My mom gave me all her attention that day as well. We did all kinds of fun stuff that day. It was a pretty good day, if you ignore how my arm got broken.

I felt my eyes fluttering shut when I heard the front door open. I sat up straight, there couldn't be anyone here at all. This place was abandoned wasn't it? I grabbed one of my old journals. There was just enough light for me to read.

Saturday 23, 2000

A man came in the manor today. He saw the gun on the armchair. It seems like he's been here before according to my other journal entries. He seems to take the gun as some sort of sign. He doesn't explore the manor. He just checks for the gun it looks like. I don't think there'll be any trouble with this man. I can be left in peace for now. I really wish that someone was here. Even if it's Itachi I wouldn't care. At least someone would be suffering here with me and would understand this hell that I now live in. He's the reason I'm here so at the very least, he could fix things. Then again, he might just save himself and leave me here so my situation wouldn't change. There isn't much else to write about. I'll try and read some of the books in the library here to pass the time. It's worked in the past according to me.

Maybe, whoever was in the manor was that gray haired man? I could just ignore it for now.

I tried to fall asleep but I couldn't knowing that some stranger was in the manor. I looked at mhy door, it was closed and locked. There was no way he would come upstairs right?

Maybe I could just take a quick peak and see what this mysterious man was up to.

*Uchiha Manor Sakura's POV*

I heard something from upstairs. It sounded like soft footsteps. There were creaks that kept sounding from the wooden floor. Whoever it was though, sounded like they were trying not to be heard. I grabbed my phone and was ready to call for help. I crept up to the top of the stairways and coming out of one of the rooms was the most handsome boy I'd ever seen. The thing was I'd seen him before in old photos. It was the youngest son, Sasuke Uchiha.